The coronavirus pandemic has led to an unfortunate surge in scam activity targeting online businesses worldwide.
But don’t worry: we are here to help protect you and prevent this on Pawshake.
Rest assured that we have anti-fraud measures in place. However, scammers are constantly evolving and we need you to tell us if you see anything out of place. By working together, our systems and policies can continue to evolve and keep everyone safe.
Here’s a simple checklist to protect your account from scammers.
1 Let us know if you see anything suspicious.
We are always here to help. If you get a feeling something is wrong, send us an email and we can look into it.
Here are some scenarios to beware of:
- If a user immediately asks to communicate outside of the Pawshake platform via email, phone or social media (by claiming the app has crashed or website has frozen, for example.).
- If a user wishes to pay in cash or cheque, and not through the Pawshake website.
- If a user requests your home address for a booking where they don’t need to visit your home.
- Initial messages that simply describe the guest pet, with no further questions or information.
- Initial messages that say ‘hello’ and nothing else.
- A user continuing to push you to accept their demands, communicating in a way that makes you uneasy (such as going offline) or won’t take no for an answer.
- A user who pushes you for extensive personal information.
- A user who sends strange links to click on.
2 Report all scammers to the authorities
If you’re unlucky enough to be targeted by a scammer on any website, be sure to report it to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The more pet sitters who officially report fraud, the easier it will be for the authorities to catch those who do the wrong thing.
And don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you need a hand doing this or any further information from us.
3 Always communicate and book through Pawshake
Aside from collecting great reviews for your profile and ranking higher on the search results, bookings that go through Pawshake are on record for our customer service team to give you a hand if necessary. Plus you will always have peace of mind from the Pawshake Guarantee, which provides veterinary coverage for your guest pet.
4 Change your password from time to time
As with any online account, it’s a good idea to change up your password every few months just to be on the safe side. Use a password generator to do this.
5 Never send out your password, payment or account information
Unless you are sure you are corresponding with our customer service team, never send your details online. We will never ask for your password or credit card information.
Thousands of sitters, owners and a whole lot of furry friends have had great experiences on Pawshake Australia – and we want to make sure this continues. The safety of our community is super important to us, so if you suspect something us up (even if it seems small), please reach out to us so we can investigate it.
Here is some more information on protecting your account from our help centre.
Happy sitting and stay safe!
